21 May 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Ruins of China’s earliest state academy found in east China

The ruins of ancient China‘s first government-run institution of higher learning, built in 374 BC, have been discovered in the Linzi District of Zibo City in east China’s Shandong Province, said the provincial institute of cultural relics and archaeology.

Founded by the State of Qi during the Warring States Period (475-221 BC), the Jixia Academy was a state institution of higher learning with multiple roles such as research institute, university and think tank, and had existed for more than 150 years.

The building complex was unearthed following a five-year excavation drive, and historical records confirmed it to be the Jixia Academy.

Source: Xinhua 

Four rows of building foundations have been found at the site, measuring about 210 meters from east to west at its widest and 190 meters long from north to south, with a total area of nearly 40,000 sq meters. The site is connected to the ancient capital city of Qi, and it appears as a right-angled trapezoid from above, according to archaeologists.

“Establishing the Jixia Academy was one of the major reforms of the state of Qi, which set the stage for a new social trend of great cultural and intellectual expansion at that time. The new discovery is of great significance for conducting further studies on Qi’s culture,” said Zheng Tongxiu, with the provincial archaeological society who is also the curator of the provincial museum.

Source: Xinhua 

Cover Photo: Photo provided by Shandong Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology on Feb. 21, 2022, shows a drainage pipe unearthed in a building complex site in east China’s Shandong Province. (Shandong Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology/Handout via Xinhua)

Related Articles

New Dead Sea Scrolls in The Horror Cave

16 March 2021

16 March 2021

On Tuesday, Israeli archaeologists revealed dozens of recently discovered fragments of Bible text, the Dead Sea Scrolls, which were based...

Stone Age Architectural Marvel Unveiled Deep in the Baltic Sea: It may be one of the largest known Stone Age structures in Europe

13 February 2024

13 February 2024

Hiding deep beneath the Baltic Sea, an architectural wonder of the Stone Age has been discovered by researchers. This megastructure,...

The ancestors of many animal species alive today may have lived in a delta in what is now China, new research suggests

20 April 2022

20 April 2022

The ancestors of many animal species alive today may have lived in a delta in what is now China, new...

Well-Preserved Wooden Houses Over 2,000 Years Old Discovered in Zhejiang, China

15 March 2025

15 March 2025

In a remarkable archaeological find, researchers in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China, have uncovered exceptionally well-preserved wooden houses dating back over...

In the “Siberian Valley of the Kings”, archaeologists have discovered a burial mound containing ornate treasures dating back 2,500 years

20 January 2022

20 January 2022

A Polish-Russian team of archaeologists, excavating in the “Siberian Valley of the Kings” have announced the discovery of a burial...

Minoan civilization may have used celestial navigation techniques

3 March 2023

3 March 2023

According to a study done by an American researcher at the University of Wales, ancient civilizations may have used celestial...

Archaeologists Unearth 78,000-Year Oldest Human Burial

5 May 2021

5 May 2021

A 78,000-year-old group of bones discovered at the mouth of a Kenyan coastal cave constitutes the oldest recorded formal human...

A 2600-year-old Clay Pot was Repurposed As Trash Bin in An Iranian Museum

13 November 2023

13 November 2023

A clay pot dating back to the 2600-year-old Medes period is now serving as a trash bin in a museum...

Bronze Age burial chamber discovered on Dartmoor, England

14 May 2024

14 May 2024

Excitement has been felt among archaeologists over the discovery of a Bronze Age burial chamber on Dartmoor, which may provide...

Unique 2700-year-old mosaics unearthed in illegal excavations

17 November 2021

17 November 2021

Two 2700-year-old mosaics, which are thought to belong to a Roman rich man and symbolize magnificence, were found in a...

In the ancient city of Syedra: a unique mosaic with the 12 labors of Heracles depicted on a single panel found

25 July 2022

25 July 2022

During the excavations in the ancient city of Syedra in the Alanya district of Antalya, approximately 164 square meters of...

A 2,000-year-old ancient “mirror” throws light on aristocratic life in China

17 May 2022

17 May 2022

Archeologists in Beijing have successfully reconstructed a 2,000-year-ago dressing mirror once cherished by the high nobility during the Han Dynasty....

The Sedgeford Anglo-Saxon malting complex may be the largest ever discovered in the UK

23 July 2023

23 July 2023

As archaeological excavations resume on a hill in Sedgeford, near Hunstanton, a seaside town in Norfolk, England, now more evidence...

200,000-year-old hand axe discovered in the northern part of Saudi Arabia

5 November 2023

5 November 2023

The Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) of Saudi Arabia has announced that archeological excavation teams at the Qurh site in...

New studies confirm that there was indeed a shipyard at Lothal, the commercial center of the Harappan civilization and world’s oldest port

6 September 2024

6 September 2024

Since the discovery of Harappan sites at Lothal, located about 30 kilometers inland from the coast of the Gulf of...